Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov was invited to Moscow for consultations on relations between the Russian Federation and the United States; it is planned to analyze the prospects for bilateral relations and further steps to establish a dialogue. This was reported on Wednesday, March 17, on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Russian Federation.
“The new American administration has been in power for almost two months, the symbolic milestone of 100 days is not far off, and this is a good reason to try to assess what J. Biden’s team is good at and what is not. For us, the main thing is to determine what the ways of rectifying the Russian-American relations, which are in a difficult state, which Washington has established in recent years, in fact, to a dead end, can be, “follows from the commentary of the official representative of the department Maria Zakharova.
It is noted that the Russian side is interested in avoiding “irreversible degradation” of relations between states, reports “Gazeta.ru”.
“We are interested in preventing their irreversible degradation, if the Americans are aware of the associated risks. This will be discussed in the course of consultations between the Russian Foreign Ministry and other relevant departments with the Russian ambassador to Washington, ”the statement reads.
Table Of Contents
Biden’s statements about Russia
Earlier that day, US President Joe Biden said that Russia must “pay the price” for its “interference” in the US elections.
The US President’s statement was preceded by the publication on March 16 of a report by the National Intelligence Office, in which Russia was accused of interfering in the American elections. Russian statesmen have been accused of trying to help Donald Trump’s re-election and obstruct Biden in the presidential election.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, for their part, found no evidence of foreign influence on the presidential election.
Despite this, Washington announced the adoption of new anti-Russian sanctions.
Russia was outraged by these statements of the American leader. For example, the Kremlin expressed regret that “low-quality materials” are the reason for the next restrictions. As the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov pointed out, this will harm “the already ailing Russian-American relations.”
Statements by the Russian side on relations with the United States
On March 4, Antonov said that Russia expects a deeper dialogue in the United States on a number of regional issues and considers it reasonable to organize a meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of the countries. He noted that Moscow is concerned about the lack of normal communication practices between states.
In an interview with Russkaya Mysl magazine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that one should not count on major changes in bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington after the Joe Biden administration came to power in the United States. At the same time, the minister stressed that the Russian Federation is always open to “an honest, mutually respectful dialogue based on a balance of interests and aimed at finding compromises.”
Earlier, on February 20, Antonov predicted further US actions in relation to Russia. According to the diplomat, Washington will continue to put pressure on Moscow.